To The Old Hands ..

[zzaa09]

The entire planet was nicer and more fun 30 years ago. Nowhere has improved in that time, nowhere at all.

Back then "news" arrived a couple of days late on a plane from Europe, or on shortwave radio. Phone calls had to be booked. No one had the faintest idea what was going on next door let alone in the next country.

These days if someone farts in Phuket it's on CNN in about 7 seconds flat, and families have covered the globe with their insidious banality.

I find the the world is a very dull place now and I'm so glad I was around to see it when it was still a bit of a laugh.

True.

People have forgotten how to have fun over the years and hardly anyone laughs anymore.

I think it`s down to the fact that people these days are under more pressure, everything has more to do with business rather than pleasure and due the Internet, many feel that there is no need to interact and socialise much when it can all be done sitting at home from a small box and a keyboard.

Business owners of the social entertainments industries have become greedy and what we took for granted years ago are now occasional luxuries.

There used to be more on offer for less, now it`s less and pay more.

Why does this maudlin and suppressive character exist? Simply, because we want it that way.

The social engineers understand how easily manipulated we are - without curiosity, independence, and self-sufficiency.

We've not progressed.

[South]

We've not progressed.

Indeed.

[kerryk]

When I got here no one had refrigerators and used banana leaves to package food. TV was black and white and we had reel to reel tape recorders and big giant speakers made up of lots of little speakers.

I bought a refrigerator in Japan and flew it in here I couldn't do without one, too far to walk for beer.

Had good health care on the military base and lots of Western food. Also had a good PX, two movie theaters on base and almost free beer.

My watch was better. Glowed in the dark really bright and didn't need a battery, self winding (Seiko from Japan).

Aids didn't exist; anything could be cured with a shot of antibiotics. Saved a lot of money on condoms and I didn't need Viagra. Although I do see a lot of people now in their 40's who look a bit like me.

No go go bars then.

Malaria pills worked and I don't remember anyone getting dengue fever. Maybe they did but I don't remember it. I had shots for everything else.

Vietnam is a lot nicer now than then. Although my judgement might be influenced by the fact that people shot at me there. Not much but enough to make it a nuisance.

[villagefarang]

My preference is to live in the present, not the past. Sure I enjoyed living here in the 70’s but how much of that was due to Thailand and how much was due to me being in my twenties? I’m not sure.

Some 35 years later Thailand has changed for sure but so have I. I can no longer imagine living the way I did back then but it was fun at the time. I say change is good, as life would be boring without it. I guess I’m still not old enough to get all nostalgic about some bygone era. I’m having too much fun in the present.

[meatboy]

30years ago it was paradise,even in patts,it started to change there early 90s,been back once[2010] that will be the last.puket i found it going the same way,been back,2003,2008 wont go back,my wife has family there so if i do go back it will only be a short visit.samui whent there 1990 unspoilt beautyfull place dont know what its like now.my plans where always to return with the wife when reaching retirement age and find a nice quite place away from the tourist areas,been coming to nakon ratchasima 12years and decided this was the place and dont regret it one bit.i have seen a lot in 30years i can only say thing have got worse than better

[kerryk]

30years ago it was paradise,even in patts,it started to change there early 90s,been back once[2010] that will be the last.puket i found it going the same way,been back,2003,2008 wont go back,my wife has family there so if i do go back it will only be a short visit.samui whent there 1990 unspoilt beautyfull place dont know what its like now.my plans where always to return with the wife when reaching retirement age and find a nice quite place away from the tourist areas,been coming to nakon ratchasima 12years and decided this was the place and dont regret it one bit.i have seen a lot in 30years i can only say thing have got worse than better

1. Uni girls uniforms have gotten better. 2. Dental care has gotten better. 3. Beef has gotten better, still awful but better. 4. Feminine hygiene has gotten better. 5. Phone and TV service has gotten better. 6. Roads have gotten better. 7. Disease control has gotten better.

8. Flooding in Bangkok has gotten less (better). 9. Rural health care has gotten better. 10. Tattoos have gotten better.

[moe666]

My first trip was in 1970 on R/R, stayed in the Miami Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi about 13 or so I think, it is still there. Afew of the boys would jump off the 3rd floor balcony into the pool for fun.

There was no skytrain and Sukhumvit was 4 lanes wide and no curbs in places. In the morning rush hour traffic left the north lane open to east bound traffic and the process was reversed in the afternoon. Now you will see a motorcycle or scooter on the sidewalk in those days not uncommon for a car to drive down the sidewalk. There was a mexican Restrurant on Sukhumvit and they had a dwarf dressed in a sombrao and sarape directing traffic.

Even then they where filling in the canals for more roads but you could take a boat ride and you where in the country side very quickly.

I loved Thailand then and I love it now people were great and still are.

I donot get the guys who constantly complain but thats up to them. maybe a bit more looking for the positive instead of focusing on the negative might change their outlook

[lovelomsak]

I too donot know if my 20years qualifies me for oldtimer. I read a bit about Thailand and had a British friend who had lived in Chiang Mai in the early 1950's tell me about Thailand. He had worked in the teak logging and wrote a book on it so had a lot to tell me.So when I arrived I felt lots of changes had already happened.

I got 18 baht to the dollar then. There were villages without a single truck or car. Toyota,Honda,Nissan etc were very few, Diahatsu was the big seller with lots full of them in Chiang Mai.I cannot remember seeing a 4 door pickup back then. Thais were curiuosly friendly just wanting to get to know a foreigner. Koh Samui a person could rent a beach hut for 80 to 100 baht.

Everything was mom and pop shops. Far less commercial and modern. Just about impossible to get change for 1000 baht note in a restaurant or small market. 500 baht notes could even be a problem,to use.

To me back then seemed to be Thai but now it is becoming just another Asian country developing and losing its own culture. The want or need for material wealth has changed it a lot.

I'd love to know the title of that book and the name of the author, if possible?

And ('scuse me), Nissans were Datsuns way back then......

Thanks!

Thanks for that when I wrote it I wonderer myself if it was Datsun back then or not but used Nissan as undecided.

The book is Elephant Kingdom by Henry Marshall. It is out of print now.

[Tywais]

Thanks for that when I wrote it I wonderer myself if it was Datsun back then or not but used Nissan as undecided.

The book is Elephant Kingdom by Henry Marshall. It is out of print now.

A photo I took in Bangkok, 1969 showing a Datsun taxi - non-metered of course.

[moe666]

While in Bangkok I remember a red Datsun 510 screaming around Sukhumvit. They where fixing their cars up back then, but no ManU stickers

[farang000999]

i would kill for a thread with nothing but old photos. that picture tells me that not much has changed.

[Tywais]

i would kill for a thread with nothing but old photos. that picture tells me that not much has changed.

Not sure what you mean by 'not much has changed'. Will add a few more here. 1st 3, 1969 the rest 1989. Not great quality as scanned from slides.

[moe666]

i would kill for a thread with nothing but old photos. that picture tells me that not much has changed.

heheeh A lot has changed in 1970 the buildings on Sukhumvit where all around 3 or 4 stories high a few hotels may be 6 or 7 stories, 4 lanes wide no center medium and no skytrain. In places no curbs and sidewalks, and no freeway at Sukhumvit Soi 1. The Miami hotel on Sukhumvit (still there) had a few tress growing in front of the entrance, all gone now.

[farang000999]

i understand that but i mean just looking at the photo i don't think the taxi driver and tuk tuk drivers were much different. i feel like i could walk out into the street today and certainly not be lost.

[bobdown1]

its bloody brilliant. Its all about your mindset. its easy to get caught up in complaining about

everything thats different from the past or from your home country. U gotta have that chill out

mentality and enjoy absolutely everything

Wish 100% i could practice what i have just preached better than i do

rgds mark

[Tywais]

i would kill for a thread with nothing but old photos. that picture tells me that not much has changed.

In case you are not aware of this subforum, the Thailand and Siam History photos forum has quite a few.

[Thaddeus]

A question for you though ... 20 years ago did you see the same amount of farangs/foreigners/westerners as you see now?

No but there were plenty living here and they were mostly insane. They did like being here though, so they get credit for that. Most of them have drifted off to Cambodia as it is more like it used to be here when everything was wide open and few laws were enforced.

I spent most of last week in Cambodia and I concur.

[meatboy]

30years ago it was paradise,even in patts,it started to change there early 90s,been back once[2010] that will be the last.puket i found it going the same way,been back,2003,2008 wont go back,my wife has family there so if i do go back it will only be a short visit.samui whent there 1990 unspoilt beautyfull place dont know what its like now.my plans where always to return with the wife when reaching retirement age and find a nice quite place away from the tourist areas,been coming to nakon ratchasima 12years and decided this was the place and dont regret it one bit.i have seen a lot in 30years i can only say thing have got worse than better

1. Uni girls uniforms have gotten better. 2. Dental care has gotten better. 3. Beef has gotten better, still awful but better. 4. Feminine hygiene has gotten better. 5. Phone and TV service has gotten better. 6. Roads have gotten better. 7. Disease control has gotten better.

8. Flooding in Bangkok has gotten less (better). 9. Rural health care has gotten better. 10. Tattoos have gotten better.

1 havnt noticed, 2 never been,3 thai pen fed always good,4who says so, 5 ok,6 cars going faster more killed,7 never caught any,8 bkk is sinking,9 always been ok,10 havnt any.

[IanForbes]

I tend to agree with Ulysses on this subject. There are changes everywhere... and even amongst ourselves. It is easy to talk about the good old days before the internet, but most of the friends I have today came from the internet. The more you learn about a country the easier it becomes. But, it's just as easy to get bored if you don't keep pushing the limits and exploring.

[farang000999]

before the internet where did farang pretend to be married to wealthy thai chinese women?

[kerryk]

30years ago it was paradise,even in patts,it started to change there early 90s,been back once[2010] that will be the last.puket i found it going the same way,been back,2003,2008 wont go back,my wife has family there so if i do go back it will only be a short visit.samui whent there 1990 unspoilt beautyfull place dont know what its like now.my plans where always to return with the wife when reaching retirement age and find a nice quite place away from the tourist areas,been coming to nakon ratchasima 12years and decided this was the place and dont regret it one bit.i have seen a lot in 30years i can only say thing have got worse than better

1. Uni girls uniforms have gotten better. 2. Dental care has gotten better. 3. Beef has gotten better, still awful but better. 4. Feminine hygiene has gotten better. 5. Phone and TV service has gotten better. 6. Roads have gotten better. 7. Disease control has gotten better.

8. Flooding in Bangkok has gotten less (better). 9. Rural health care has gotten better. 10. Tattoos have gotten better.

1 havnt noticed, 2 never been,3 thai pen fed always good,4who says so, 5 ok,6 cars going faster more killed,7 never caught any,8 bkk is sinking,9 always been ok,10 havnt any.

1. What do you look at? 2. Teeth should be cleaned every 6 months. 3. 40 years ago I never saw any beef for sale. 4. Me, from sizable random surveys 40 years ago, 10 years ago and today. 6. Cars went fast 40 years ago too but the bad roads caused more accidents. 7. Get out more and catch a disease like the rest of us. 8. BKK may be sinking but the flooding is only 10% of what it was in the 1960's. 9. Rural health care was non existent in the 1960's.

[meatboy]

30years ago it was paradise,even in patts,it started to change there early 90s,been back once[2010] that will be the last.puket i found it going the same way,been back,2003,2008 wont go back,my wife has family there so if i do go back it will only be a short visit.samui whent there 1990 unspoilt beautyfull place dont know what its like now.my plans where always to return with the wife when reaching retirement age and find a nice quite place away from the tourist areas,been coming to nakon ratchasima 12years and decided this was the place and dont regret it one bit.i have seen a lot in 30years i can only say thing have got worse than better

1. Uni girls uniforms have gotten better. 2. Dental care has gotten better. 3. Beef has gotten better, still awful but better. 4. Feminine hygiene has gotten better. 5. Phone and TV service has gotten better. 6. Roads have gotten better. 7. Disease control has gotten better.

8. Flooding in Bangkok has gotten less (better). 9. Rural health care has gotten better. 10. Tattoos have gotten better.

1 havnt noticed, 2 never been,3 thai pen fed always good,4who says so, 5 ok,6 cars going faster more killed,7 never caught any,8 bkk is sinking,9 always been ok,10 havnt any.

1. What do you look at? 2. Teeth should be cleaned every 6 months. 3. 40 years ago I never saw any beef for sale. 4. Me, from sizable random surveys 40 years ago, 10 years ago and today. 6. Cars went fast 40 years ago too but the bad roads caused more accidents. 7. Get out more and catch a disease like the rest of us. 8. BKK may be sinking but the flooding is only 10% of what it was in the 1960's. 9. Rural health care was non existent in the 1960's.

1 ummm got high bp.2 had them all out due to having heart surgery,3 how old are you,4 surveys dont trust, 6 i had a morris oxford top speed 65mph,

7 bit old for that arent you,but i did get beer itus in bkk,8 must have rained a lot,plus no toilets.9 yes but you didnt have to pay either,one to add you can get good spuds today.take care and yachi-da.:jap:

[Naam]

one change that really bothers me: compared to 30 years ago there are too many Farangs and too many Thais in Thailand.

[IanForbes]

one change that really bothers me: compared to 30 years ago there are too many Farangs and too many Thais in Thailand.

I TOLD you we needed a good war or deadly plague to thin out the population.

[Gary A]

Things change no matter where you are at. Some for the better and some for the worse. I do find many things here in Thailand better including Bangkok traffic. Years ago I sat in Sukhumvit traffic for three hours before I found a place to make a U turn and go back home.

There are also many more things available in the stores than years ago. Most of the better things come at a higher cost but that is no different than anywhere else.

On my rare trips back to my homeland I find that things there have changed and certainly NOT for the better. I am always happy to get back to Thailand with its warts and all.

I have a good friend who recently moved to Sihanoukville. I got an email from him today. He says the very weak infrastructure, particularly the electricity supply has worn him down and that he is planning to come back to Thailand.

[IanForbes]

Good points, Gary. It is hard to compare the good and the bad from one decade to another. I remember how plugged up the traffic was in Bangkok in the 1990s and now there is a rail system and over-head highways. But, because of the increase in population tt still seems to take the same length of time from point A to point B. Even after they fixed much of the highway between Chiang Mai and Mai Sai it still takes the same 4 hours on a bus. It still takes the same 4 hours to Mai Sariang. The excitement of the Pattaya or Nana Plaza bar scene has worn off, but I still enjoy going out to the bars in Chiang Mai where I know the staff and flirt with the girls I consider friends. There is a comfort in being one of the regulars where you can tease and be teased without anyone getting upset. You can drop in at various restaurants and just chat with the staff or owners when they get to know you. Because I only spend half my life in Thailand I get to compare prices of the same goods in Canada and Thailand. Most often I can buy clothes and shoes cheaper in Canada than I can in Thailand... even though those items are made in Asia. But, other than my fishing tackle and cameras I have simple tastes and life is pretty inexpensive for me in Thailand. I don't want for much and I actually SAVE money by living in Thailand for 5 months a year.